The employee is Ryan Ray, Matlow’s City Commission aide and a prominent figure in local Democratic politics.

Sources familiar with the local progressive political movement, an analysis of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other records point to Ray as the person posting under the screen name “NE Moderate” during the period examined.

For years, political insiders had speculated about the identity of NE Moderate. TR’s investigation went beyond those suspicions. TR matched comments from IP addresses outside Tallahassee with periods when records independently placed Ray in those same areas.

The investigation also uncovered a striking timing pattern that could have legal implications.

Of the 343 NE Moderate comments examined by TR, 225 — approximately 66% — were posted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

TR then compared the comment timestamps with City payroll records for selected weeks of particularly heavy activity. Those records show numerous comments were posted during the span of Ray’s recorded City workdays.

One of the clearest examples occurred Aug. 9, 2022.

Ray’s City timecard shows that he clocked in at 8 a.m. and clocked out at 5 p.m. that day. NE Moderate posted at 8:32 a.m., followed by comments at 9:38, 9:58, 10:58, 11:02 and 11:50 a.m. Another appeared at 1:09 p.m.

Seven comments in less than five hours — all during the span of Ray’s recorded City workday.

Questions extend beyond Ray’s activity related to Tallahassee Reports.

Ray, as the head of the Leon County Democratic Party, has been responsible for political social-media activity related to the party which involves thousands of social media posts over the last two years. For example, a preliminary analysis shows from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2026, the Leon County Democratic Party X account posted 731 times. Of those, 335 posts occurred during standard workday hours — Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tallahassee local time. That means 45.8% of all posts during that six-month period were made during workday hours.

TR has begun comparing these timestamps with City payroll records and the NE Moderate comments. A preliminary review has identified days on which political social-media posts and anonymous Tallahassee Reports comments occurred during the same workday.

TR has asked Ray and Commissioner Matlow for a comment but has not received a response.

The investigation now raises several questions: Was a taxpayer-funded City employee was engaging in political activity while on City time? What was Ray saying anonymously? Did NE Moderate advocate for or against candidates for public office? How much of the activity occurred while Ray was on duty? Did Commissioner Matlow know about the activity? Were City equipment, networks or other taxpayer-funded resources involved? And did any of the activity implicate City policies or Florida laws governing political activity by public employees?

And finally, was Ray’s activities part of a broader pattern in the progressive movement of using fake or undisclosed accounts and pages to influence public opinion without revealing who is behind them.

Florida law specifically provides that an employee of the state or a political subdivision “may not participate in any political campaign for an elective office while on duty.” The same law protects a public employee’s right to express political opinions and participate in campaigns during off-duty hours. Whether particular NE Moderate comments constitute prohibited campaign participation is a legal question TR is continuing to examine.

Those issues — including what NE Moderate said about candidates, what City policies and state law require, and what Commissioner Matlow knew about his aide’s activity — will be examined in subsequent installments of this series.

343 Comments Examined

TR reviewed 343 NE Moderate comments posted between December 2018 and June 2024 and analyzed the date and time associated with each comment. The results show a striking concentration during conventional working hours.

Of the 343 comments, 225 — 65.6% — were posted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Another 80, or 23.3%, were posted on weekdays outside those hours, while 38, or 11.1%, were posted on weekends.

The concentration increased during 2023, when NE Moderate was most active. Of 191 comments that year, 139 — 72.8% — were posted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Those numbers alone, however, could not establish that Ray was actually working when the comments appeared. Employees take vacations, use leave, work different schedules and take lunch breaks. TR therefore sought Ray’s City time records.

Timecards Compared With Comments

TR identified 14 weeks with some of the heaviest NE Moderate comment activity and obtained Ray’s City timecards for those periods. The records generally show Ray working an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. schedule, with eight hours credited for a normal workday.

TR then compared the timestamps of NE Moderate comments with Ray’s actual time records. During those 14 weeks, NE Moderate posted 130 comments. Of those, 94 were posted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Three of the 94 occurred Jan. 18, 2024, when Ray’s timecard shows eight hours of personal leave rather than a normal workday.

That leaves 91 comments posted during the 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. span on dates when Ray’s City timecard records him working. The City’s time records supplied to TR show the repeated 8 a.m.-5 p.m. work schedule during the periods examined.

There is an important qualification.

The timecards generally credit Ray with eight hours despite showing a nine-hour period between his 8 a.m. arrival and 5 p.m. departure. The records reviewed by TR do not identify the precise time of an unpaid meal period. For that reason, TR cannot establish that every one of the 91 comments was posted during compensated working time. But the frequency and timing of comments on several days make the activity difficult to attribute solely to a single lunch period.

Seven Comments in One Workday

Aug. 9, 2022, provides the clearest example.

Ray’s timecard records an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. workday.

NE Moderate posted at:

8:32 a.m.
9:38 a.m.
9:58 a.m.
10:58 a.m.
11:02 a.m.
11:50 a.m.
1:09 p.m.

The underlying comment records confirm the seven timestamps. The comments were spread across nearly five hours of Ray’s recorded workday. Other high-activity dates followed a similar pattern.

On Dec. 8, 2022, NE Moderate posted five comments between 8:57 a.m. and 3:12 p.m.

On Feb. 9, 2023, five comments appeared between 8:45 a.m. and 4:34 p.m.

On April 20, 2023, four comments were posted at 10:42 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 10:50 a.m. and 2:58 p.m.

On June 26, 2023, another four appeared at 9:43 a.m., 11:58 a.m., 2:09 p.m. and 2:32 p.m.

And on Sept. 21, 2023, NE Moderate posted at 8:58 a.m., 1:27 p.m. and 1:48 p.m.

The timecards reviewed by TR show Ray working his regular City schedule on those dates.

A Political Employee

Ray was not simply an anonymous City worker. He works directly for Commissioner Matlow and became chairman of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee in December 2022. Contemporary reporting noted that Ray received support for the party position from the local progressive wing, including Matlow and Commissioner Jack Porter.

Ray’s political activities have generated controversy separate from the NE Moderate account. In 2024, City Commission candidate Rudy Ferguson filed a complaint with the Florida Democratic Party alleging that local party officials, including Ray, had taken sides in Ferguson’s race against Porter.

More recently, TR reported that Ray created the Florida New Signal website and that the site published material favorable to Matlow and other progressive candidates while criticizing their political opponents.

Those activities, standing alone, do not establish anything improper about the NE Moderate comments. Government employees retain political rights and can participate in politics on their own time.

The question raised by the newly obtained timecards is different.

What Was He Saying?

The data establish when NE Moderate was posting. They don’t answer what may be the more consequential question: What was a City Commission aide saying anonymously during those workday periods?

TR’s review found the account was not limited to debating taxes, crime, development or other public-policy questions. NE Moderate also commented on elected officials, political factions and candidates for office. In some instances, those comments appeared directly beneath stories about active election campaigns.

TR has identified workday comments praising certain City commissioners and criticizing others, including comments concerning candidates whose electoral success or defeat could alter the balance of power on the Tallahassee City Commission.

Those findings will be detailed in Part 2 of this investigation.

They also raise a separate question under Florida law.

State law protects the right of public employees to express political opinions and participate in political campaigns during their off-duty hours. But Florida law also contains a specific prohibition concerning government employees participating in campaigns while on duty.

Whether the NE Moderate activity crossed that line is a question TR will examine separately with the comments, time records and relevant Florida law.

There is another unanswered question.

What did Commissioner Jeremy Matlow know?

The records reviewed for this installment do not establish that Matlow knew Ray was operating the NE Moderate account, knew Ray was posting comments during his workday, or directed or encouraged any of the activity.

TR is seeking records and responses addressing those questions.

The distinction could be significant.

If Ray acted entirely on his own, the investigation presents one set of issues.

If City resources were used, or if others at City Hall knew about or participated in the activity, it could present another.

Coming in Part 2: What NE Moderate was saying — and which Tallahassee candidates the anonymous account supported and opposed.

One distinction highlighted in the city agenda is that Flock Safety is a company, while automated license plate recognition, or ALPR, is the technology. TPD currently uses two ALPR platforms — Flock Safety and Vigilant — with 80 Flock cameras and 75 Vigilant cameras. The fixed cameras capture license plates and associated vehicle information that investigators can search for legitimate law enforcement purposes.

The systems are also different from TPD’s public-safety video cameras. Those cameras provide video footage associated with calls for service and investigations, while ALPR cameras automatically identify and create searchable records of license plates passing the cameras.

TPD Points to Major Cases

TPD says ALPR technology has played a role in several significant investigations.

According to the agenda, investigators used ALPR information during a 2025 investigation into approximately 14 bank robberies involving suspects traveling from Texas along the Interstate 10 corridor and frequently changing license plates. The information helped investigators reconstruct vehicle movements and connect related incidents.

In another case, following a February 2025 armed robbery and double homicide at a Gadsden County convenience store, investigators identified the suspect vehicle. A Flock alert later detected the vehicle traveling through another jurisdiction, helping officers coordinate across agencies and eventually capture the suspect in Suwannee County.

TPD also reports ALPR technology contributed to resolving several attempted murder or homicide investigations between 2022 and 2026, including the November 2022 FAMU basketball court homicide and 2025 and 2026 Tallahassee homicide cases. In March 2026, officers used ALPR data to locate an elderly person with dementia who had been reported missing.

Flock provides an additional benefit because participating law enforcement agencies can share information. TPD determines which agencies may access its Flock data, while other agencies decide whether their information is available to Tallahassee investigators. That can allow investigators to follow vehicles beyond the reach of TPD-owned cameras.

Safeguards and Audits

TPD’s General Order 56 limits ALPR use to active criminal intelligence or investigative purposes. Searches require an authorized user to provide a purpose and case number, and access is controlled through individual login credentials.

The department also says an ALPR alert by itself generally does not give an officer authority to take enforcement action. Officers must visually verify the license plate and confirm the information through appropriate law enforcement databases.

Other safeguards include mandatory training, restrictions against using the system for personal interest or curiosity, and auditing of searches. Misuse can result in discipline, termination, criminal arrest or civil liability. TPD policy establishes a minimum 30-day data-retention period, subject to applicable public-records requirements.

Those auditing provisions recently received a real-world test. TPD identified 293 searches that were flagged by the system for further review. According to the city, each was investigated and determined to have been conducted for a legitimate law enforcement purpose.

TPD also launched a public Flock Transparency Portal on Aug. 25 providing information about ALPR reads, searches, hits, policies and other information.

The discussion comes as other governments reconsider the technology. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil recently suspended LCSO’s use of ALPR technology pending additional standards and oversight, while the Florida Department of Transportation has revoked permits allowing ALPR devices within state highway rights-of-way. The FDOT action does not prohibit ALPR technology generally, but requires affected cameras to be removed from state rights-of-way.

The City Commission agenda does not recommend ending TPD’s ALPR program. Instead, commissioners are being asked to provide direction on the technology’s future use as officials weigh its documented investigative benefits against concerns involving privacy, data access, retention and oversight.

FAMU announced Aug. 31 that Richard W. Schweigert has been hired as interim chief financial officer and vice president for Finance and Administration. Schweigert previously held the same interim positions at FAMU from August through December 2019.

Schweigert returns at a critical time for the university. FAMU has been working to correct financial and operational problems identified through state audits while also dealing with staffing shortages in its financial operations.

During an Aug. 31 Board of Trustees meeting, Schweigert said the university’s Controller’s Office currently has nine vacancies and is working to fill the positions. Trustees also approved an $894,000 contract extension through June 2027 with accounting firm Mitchell Titus, which is assisting FAMU as it prepares its 2026 financial audit and strengthens financial controls.

FAMU President Marva Johnson said Schweigert’s previous experience at the university will help during the transition.

“He understands our institution, our governance structure and the demands of operating a major public university,” Johnson said. “That institutional knowledge is an asset as we strengthen the University’s financial position and advance our strategic priorities.”

Schweigert has extensive experience managing university finances. Most recently, he served as interim CFO at The College of New Jersey from April 2023 through June 2025. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade as CFO of the Colorado State University System, overseeing finances for a multi-campus system with a $1.5 billion budget.

The appointment follows another period of turnover in FAMU’s top financial position. Nichole Murry, who had served as acting CFO since July 2025, resigned earlier this year to become CFO of the Glades County School District. She had succeeded former CFO Rebecca Brown, who resigned in 2025 amid scrutiny over financial and operational audit issues.

FAMU said its national search for a permanent CFO remains underway. Schweigert is expected to focus in part on procurement alignment and strengthening internal financial controls while that search continues.

Mayor John Dailey and Commissioners Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox supported moving forward with Jumonville, while Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter voted against the motion. Jumonville’s contract is expected to return to the commission for final ratification on Sept. 9.

Before the final vote, Matlow and Porter, the commission’s progressive wing, proposed hiring Jumonville under a one-year contract. The proposal was rejected by the commission majority, with Dailey arguing that a short-term agreement would create instability, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The contract debate reflected a larger disagreement that has surrounded the city manager search for months. Matlow and Porter have argued that the commission should not make a long-term appointment shortly before the November elections, which could change the makeup of the five-member board. WFSU reported that the two commissioners said Wednesday that the process had been rushed and could result in instability if the incoming commission wants a different manager.

The commission majority has rejected that argument, maintaining that the current commission has a responsibility to select a permanent replacement for retiring City Manager Reese Goad.

Jumonville was one of three finalists recommended by S. Renée Narloch & Associates, the firm hired by the city for $30,000 to conduct the nationwide search. The other finalists were Scott Andrews, former county manager of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and Valerie Washington, assistant city manager in Fort Worth, Texas.

As previously reported by Tallahassee Reports, the three finalists emerged from 37 applicants representing nine states and the District of Columbia. The applicant pool included 13 current or former city and county managers and five deputy or assistant city managers.

Jumonville brings considerably more Tallahassee experience than the other finalists. She joined city government in 1999 and was promoted to deputy city manager in March 2025 after serving as an assistant city manager since 2022. She previously headed the city’s Growth Management Department and was the first woman to serve as its director.

As deputy city manager, Jumonville oversees departments with a combined budget exceeding $270 million and approximately 700 employees. The city manager is responsible for a much larger organization — nearly 4,000 employees, a roughly $1.2 billion operating and capital budget, six municipal utilities, the Tallahassee Police Department, fire services, parks and recreation and Tallahassee International Airport.

During her presentation to commissioners, Jumonville emphasized both her experience and the responsibility that comes with the position.

“I understand first hand the significance of this position, its importance to the community and the extraordinary responsibility that comes with it,” Jumonville said, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. She said her focus would include aligning city spending with priorities established by the commission.

At Tuesday’s public meet-and-greet, Jumonville told WFSU that she would focus on “fiscal stewardship” while fostering the city’s “one team mentality and culture.”

Jumonville will replace Goad, who announced earlier this year that he would retire effective Sept. 30 or when his successor is selected. Goad has served as city manager since 2018 and had previously endorsed Jumonville as a strong candidate for the position.

A new study by criminologists Ian T. Adams and Scott M. Mourtgos of the University of South Carolina found that motor vehicle theft declined approximately 11% in the year after law enforcement agencies deployed automated license plate reader, or ALPR, networks.

The researchers describe their study as the first rigorous evaluation of modern fixed license plate reader networks, technology that has become increasingly common through companies such as Flock Safety.

The findings come as the Leon County Sheriff’s Office has suspended its use of automated license plate recognition technology pending additional oversight, guidance or regulation from law enforcement accrediting organizations.

The national debate over the cameras has intensified following reports of law enforcement officers improperly accessing plate-reader databases. According to Adams and Mourtgos, at least 50 officers nationally have been charged with or accused of misusing plate-reader networks, including officers accused of searching for information on wives, former girlfriends and other women.

But the researchers argue that those legitimate concerns should be considered alongside emerging evidence that the technology produces measurable public-safety benefits.

Their study examined installation records from a major ALPR vendor covering 216 law enforcement agencies and compared the information with monthly crime data reported to the FBI. Another approximately 1,800 similarly sized agencies served as the control group.

The strongest finding involved vehicle theft.

During the year following deployment of ALPR cameras, motor vehicle theft declined approximately 11% relative to comparison agencies. Researchers also found that other types of property crime did not experience similar declines, providing additional evidence that the change was associated specifically with the plate readers rather than a broader reduction in crime.

The study also found that vehicle-theft clearances increased approximately 16%.

However, the researchers cautioned against attributing the entire increase to ALPRs because arrests began increasing during the months immediately before the recorded camera activation dates. Police departments sometimes purchase the systems as part of broader initiatives targeting vehicle theft, making it difficult to isolate the effect of the cameras on arrests.

Another finding involved how quickly stolen vehicles were recovered.

The cameras did not significantly increase the overall percentage of stolen vehicles eventually recovered. But among vehicles that were recovered, recovery occurred approximately six hours sooner.

That distinction illustrates both the usefulness and limitations of the technology. A plate reader can only identify a stolen vehicle if it passes a camera, its license plate is readable and has been entered on a law enforcement hot list, and an officer is available to respond. Many stolen vehicles are instead discovered by their owners or found abandoned or crashed.

The study therefore provides evidence that ALPRs are useful crime-fighting tools, but not the broad solution sometimes portrayed by supporters.

Just as important, the research does not resolve the privacy debate.

Adams and Mourtgos acknowledge their study does not measure the costs associated with misuse of plate-reader databases. Police databases have historically created opportunities for improper searches, and the expanded reach of fixed camera networks potentially increases the consequences of such abuse.

Modern ALPR systems include safeguards. Agencies can examine officer search logs, and Flock has developed an automated auditing tool designed to flag suspicious searches. According to the researchers, that system recently contributed to a Georgia police department firing five officers.

But internal audits have significant limitations.

The researchers cite cases in which officers responsible for oversight were themselves accused of abusing the systems. They also note that audit logs are only useful when officers provide meaningful explanations for searches. In one Missouri community, 85% of searches contained only a single-word explanation and fewer than 3% were connected to a criminal case.

Adams and Mourtgos argue that the most significant missing safeguard is independent external auditing.

They point to FBI databases, where access has long been accompanied by mandatory audits and the possibility that access can be revoked. No comparable nationwide auditing system exists for ALPR networks.

The researchers recommend regular outside audits along with limits on how long license-plate information is retained and tighter restrictions governing who can search the databases and for what purposes.

The emerging evidence therefore complicates the debate over Flock cameras and other license plate readers.

The technology appears capable of producing a measurable public-safety benefit, particularly by reducing vehicle theft and helping police locate stolen vehicles more quickly. At the same time, documented cases of database misuse demonstrate that privacy concerns are more than theoretical.

The policy question may increasingly become not simply whether communities should use license plate readers, but what independent oversight should be required when they do.

Source: Ian T. Adams and Scott M. Mourtgos, University of South Carolina criminologists, analysis of their working paper evaluating fixed automated license plate reader networks.

The suspension is effective immediately and will remain in place pending additional oversight, guidance or regulation from law enforcement accrediting organizations, according to a release from LCSO.

McNeil’s decision follows his request to two law enforcement accreditation organizations — the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies — to develop standards governing agencies that use license plate recognition technology.

Specifically, McNeil is asking the organizations to require law enforcement agencies to regularly audit the use of license plate recognition systems and publicly report the findings of those audits.

The distinction between license plate recognition technology generally and Flock cameras is significant. Flock Safety is one provider of automated license plate reader technology, but law enforcement agencies can access or operate other systems capable of capturing and searching vehicle license plate information.

The broader suspension means LCSO is stepping away from the technology itself pending additional safeguards rather than simply discontinuing its use of a particular vendor or camera network.

“License plate recognition technology has proven to be a valuable law enforcement tool, helping investigators solve crimes, locate missing and endangered persons, recover stolen vehicles and identify suspects who might otherwise be difficult to find,” McNeil said.

However, McNeil said those benefits must be weighed against the need for accountability over how the systems are used.

“However, the value of this technology does not eliminate our responsibility to ensure it is used appropriately and with strong safeguards in place,” McNeil said.

The use of automated license plate readers has drawn increasing scrutiny over privacy, data retention, information sharing and the ability of law enforcement agencies to search large databases containing records of vehicle movements.

McNeil said LCSO will wait for stronger oversight measures before resuming use of the technology.

“Until additional oversight and accountability measures are established, I believe suspending our use of this technology is the responsible course of action,” McNeil said. “Public safety and public trust must go hand in hand.”

LCSO said it will continue working with accreditation organizations and monitoring the development of standards and guidance governing the use, auditing and oversight of license plate recognition technology.

In an eight-page order filed Monday, Aug. 31, Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh granted motions to dismiss filed by the City of Tallahassee and the Florida State University Board of Trustees. The ruling ends the case at the trial-court level unless the plaintiffs pursue an appeal.

The lawsuit was filed April 30 by the Tallahassee Branch NAACP and four residents — Jacqueline Y. Perkins, Moises Humberto Martinez, Ada Kilpatrick and Wilson Barnes. The plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the city’s March 11 vote to transfer the hospital assets to FSU.

The complaint argued the city failed to comply with Section 155.40 of Florida law in carrying out the transaction and alleged the transfer could put health care for indigent residents at risk.

Marsh dismissed the case on what he described as “multiple independent and alternative grounds,” finding that each was sufficient on its own to require dismissal.

First, the court ruled the plaintiffs lacked standing under Section 155.40. Marsh found that the law provides a specific process for challenging a hospital sale or lease and limits an “interested party” to someone submitting a proposal to buy or lease the hospital along with the governing board. None of the plaintiffs submitted such a proposal or sought appellate review of a decision by the Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration.

The court also found the plaintiffs lacked standing under broader legal principles because they had not alleged a specific injury different from that potentially experienced by the community generally. The order characterized their status as residents and possible future hospital patients as a generalized grievance and found their claimed financial injury depended upon a speculative series of future events.

In a separate and potentially significant finding, Marsh ruled that Section 155.40 does not apply to the transaction.

The statute addresses the sale or lease of a public hospital to a for-profit or nonprofit Florida entity. FSU, Marsh wrote, is neither. Instead, FSU is a governmental entity and an agency of the State of Florida. Therefore, the court concluded, transferring the assets to FSU falls outside the type of transaction regulated by the statute.

Marsh also determined that allowing the plaintiffs to amend their complaint would be futile because the legal defects identified by the court could not be corrected through new allegations. The case was therefore dismissed with prejudice, making the ruling final at the circuit-court level.

The judge emphasized that his ruling should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the city’s hospital-transfer policy.

“This court can only decide whether or not the policy is legal,” Marsh wrote, adding that the court cannot “second guess whether that is a good or bad policy.”

For the week of August 24–30, the average temperature at Tallahassee International Airport was 82.0 degrees, exactly matching the 1991–2020 normal for those dates. The week began hot, with a high of 96 degrees on Monday, August 24, but temperatures dropped substantially later in the week. Highs reached just 86 degrees Thursday, 84 Friday and 85 Saturday before rebounding to 95 Sunday.

The week’s lowest temperature was 73 degrees, recorded Sunday. Four of the final five days finished with average temperatures below normal, including Friday at 79 degrees — 3 degrees below normal.

The cooler finish, however, has not erased what was an unusually hot August. Over the 28 days ending August 30, Tallahassee averaged approximately 84.4 degrees, about 2.0 degrees above the date-specific historical normal of 82.4 degrees. The period included back-to-back 100-degree highs on August 17 and 18.

Rainfall remains the bigger developing weather story.

Only 0.25 inches of rain fell during the seven-day period, compared with approximately 1.48 inches normally expected, leaving the week about 1.23 inches below normal. Measurable rain fell on five days, but amounts were small. The wettest day was Wednesday, August 26, with just 0.13 inches.

The trailing four-week period was also very dry. From August 3 through August 30, Tallahassee received 1.78 inches, compared with approximately 6.87 inches normally expected — only about 26% of normal.

Through August 30, month-to-date rainfall stood at 5.99 inches, 1.42 inches below the normal 7.41 inches. The longer-term deficit is much larger: year-to-date rainfall totaled 29.51 inches, compared with a normal 43.13 inches, a deficit of 13.62 inches, or roughly 32%.

No daily temperature or rainfall records were tied or broken during the week. NWS records for Tallahassee extend back to 1896.

By the Numbers

About the data: Tallahassee Reports uses official NOAA/National Weather Service observations for Tallahassee. Temperature and precipitation comparisons are calculated against NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals. Weekly reports cover Monday through Sunday, while four-week comparisons cover the 28 days ending Sunday.

The Tallahassee Democrat, which first reported the problems Thursday, reported that the issues began following an Aug. 18 upgrade to the county’s jail management software. The system records bookings at the Leon County Detention Facility and feeds information into the Justice Information System used by courts, prosecutors and law enforcement.

State Attorney Jack Campbell described the problems as “catastrophic,” telling the Democrat that inaccurate information has included nonexistent or “ghost” cases and records incorrectly indicating that individuals should remain incarcerated. The errors raise concerns about both wrongful detention and the possibility that inaccurate records could result in someone being released when they should remain jailed.

The problems also prompted Chief Circuit Judge Frank Allman to move first-appearance hearings from electronic proceedings to in-person hearings at the courthouse. Some courthouse offices have reverted to paper systems, while inmate visitation at the detention facility was temporarily disrupted.

County Administrator Vince Long told county commissioners in an Aug. 27 email that the county experienced “significant complications” following the software upgrade. County officials now plan to return to the previous jail management system this weekend, which Long called the fastest and lowest-risk option for restoring accurate records.

Leon County commissioners approved an agreement with Chenosa Systems Corporation in 2023 to replace the county’s aging jail management system. Even after the previous system is restored, county officials will face the task of identifying and correcting records affected by the failed upgrade.

The publicly posted audit covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Tallahassee Reports could not locate audits for the fiscal years ending in 2024 or 2025 on the Foundation’s publicly accessible financial information.

The 2023 findings take on added significance following the school district’s announcement that Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michelle Gayle and Foundation Executive Director Margaret Farris have been placed on administrative leave while LCS conducts a review of financial records related to the Foundation.

The district has stressed that placing employees on administrative leave is not a presumption or finding of wrongdoing.

Auditors Identify Two Material Weaknesses

The Foundation’s 2023 independent audit identified two material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting.

One involved the segregation of financial responsibilities. According to the audit, one Foundation employee was responsible for collecting payments, entering deposits into the accounting system and making the bank deposits. Another employee reviewed invoices, entered disbursements into the accounting system, and prepared and mailed checks.

Auditors also reported that there was no official review process for journal entries or credit card transactions.

The auditors concluded that the arrangement increased the risk that receipts and disbursements could be manipulated and potentially result in materially misstated financial statements or misappropriation of assets.

The auditors recommended increasing Board review of financial activity, including reviewing bank statements, journal entries and credit card transactions.

The finding does not mean auditors determined that money had been misappropriated. Rather, it identified weaknesses in controls designed to prevent or detect such problems.

Accounting Adjustments Required

The second material weakness involved the Foundation’s accounting records.

According to the audit, significant adjustments were necessary during the audit process to bring the Foundation’s financial statements into conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The auditors reported that Foundation management had relied on the auditing firm to propose accounting entries that had not previously been recorded.

Because the adjustments resulted in a material change to the financial statements, auditors classified the deficiency as a material weakness.

Despite the two findings, the independent auditors ultimately issued an unmodified, or “clean,” opinion on the Foundation’s corrected financial statements. The auditors concluded that the statements fairly presented the Foundation’s financial position in all material respects.

Foundation Financial Activity Was Growing

The audit also shows an organization experiencing significant financial growth.

On the governmental-fund basis presented in the audit, the Foundation reported $757,930 in revenue for fiscal year 2023, substantially higher than its original budget of $408,734. Public contributions totaled $369,795, compared with a budget of $144,554, while grant revenue reached $241,492, compared with the $143,000 budgeted.

Foundation expenditures totaled $717,118.

The largest expenditure was $322,785 for classroom grants, followed by $242,038 classified as grants, contributions and programs. Together, those categories totaled approximately $565,000, or about 79% of expenditures.

Leon County Schools also provided significant support to the Foundation. The audit reported $137,829 in in-kind contributions from the district, including $100,389 in salaries and $37,440 for office space.

The Foundation is considered a direct-support organization and component unit of Leon County Schools because of its relationship with the district.

More Recent Audits Not Publicly Posted

The absence of more recent publicly available audits leaves an important unanswered question: Were the internal-control weaknesses identified in 2023 subsequently corrected?

That question is particularly relevant because the Foundation’s financial activity continued to increase after the 2023 audit.

Federal nonprofit filings show Foundation revenue subsequently exceeded $1 million annually, including approximately $1.5 million during fiscal year 2024. A significant portion of the increase was associated with grants and government-supported education programs.

Records from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations also show a $672,759 payment to the Foundation for work associated with Resiliency Through the Community and the New Worlds Reading Initiative.

However, without the subsequent independent audits, the public cannot determine from the Foundation’s currently posted audit records whether auditors found that the 2023 material weaknesses were corrected, continued, or were replaced by other findings.

The timing is notable given the district’s current review.

LCS announced this week that Gayle and Farris were placed on administrative leave while officials review Foundation financial records. Farris became the Foundation’s executive director in 2025 and therefore was not serving in that position during the period covered by the 2023 audit.

The district has not publicly alleged financial misconduct by either official and has said administrative leave should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing.

The Foundation’s 2023 audit consequently does not establish a connection between the earlier internal-control weaknesses and the district’s current review. It does, however, provide the latest publicly available independent assessment of the Foundation’s financial controls — an assessment that identified two material weaknesses.

Whether those weaknesses were subsequently corrected remains unclear from the financial audits currently available to the public.

Official National Weather Service observations at Tallahassee International Airport show the seven-day average temperature was 86.0 degrees, compared with a date-specific 1991–2020 normal of about 82.0 degrees.

The hottest days came immediately. Tallahassee reached 100 degrees on Aug. 17, breaking the previous daily record of 99 degrees set in 1990 and 2000. The temperature reached 100 again on Aug. 18, tying the record set in 1993.

The heat persisted through the remainder of the week. Highs reached 98 on Aug. 19, 95 on Aug. 20, 96 on Aug. 21, 94 on Aug. 22 and 98 on Aug. 23. The week’s lowest temperature was 72 degrees, recorded on Aug. 20 and Aug. 23.

Rainfall, meanwhile, was limited. Tallahassee recorded just 0.16 inches during the seven-day period, compared with a normal of approximately 1.70 inches for those dates — a deficit of 1.54 inches. Measurable rain fell on only two days, with the wettest day, Aug. 19, producing 0.10 inches. Trace amounts were reported on several other days.

The broader four-week picture also shows persistent heat. For the 28 days ending Aug. 23, Tallahassee averaged approximately 85.1 degrees, about 2.9 degrees above the date-specific normal of 82.2 degrees.

Four-week rainfall totaled 6.06 inches, compared with a normal of about 7.15 inches, putting rainfall at roughly 85% of normal.

Despite substantial rain earlier in August, the month had slipped slightly below normal by Aug. 23. Month-to-date rainfall totaled 5.74 inches, compared with 5.93 inches normally. The longer-term deficit remained much larger: Tallahassee had received 29.26 inches since Jan. 1, compared with a normal 41.65 inches — a deficit of 12.39 inches, or nearly 30%.

By the Numbers

About the data: Tallahassee Reports uses official NOAA/National Weather Service observations for Tallahassee. Temperature and precipitation comparisons are calculated against NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals. Weekly reports cover Monday through Sunday, while four-week comparisons cover the 28 days ending Sunday.

The statement notes that “Administrative leave should not be interpreted as a presumption or finding of wrongdoing. This action allows the district to conduct a thorough and appropriate review of circumstances and determine whether any official action is warranted.”

Background

Dr. Michelle Gayle is the Deputy Superintendent of Leon County Schools, serving as one of Superintendent Rocky Hanna’s senior administrators. She leads the district’s Office of Professional, Intervention and Community Services.

Gayle’s responsibilities are unusually broad. She oversees or works with School Board administration, prevention and intervention services, admissions, attendance and discipline, mental health and wellness services, purchasing, planning, marketing and events, School Choice, volunteers and mentors, business and community partnerships, the District Advisory Council and the Foundation for Leon County Schools.

Before becoming deputy superintendent, Gayle served as LCS Assistant Superintendent for Professional and Community Services. In that position, she acted as a liaison between the superintendent, School Board and community organizations and oversaw areas including communications, volunteers, school choice and the Foundation.

Margaret Farris is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Leon County Schools, the nonprofit direct-support organization associated with Leon County Schools. LCS lists Farris among its district administrators and places the Foundation under Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michelle Gayle’s Office of Professional, Intervention and Community Services. Farris works from the LCS administrative complex and uses an LCS email address and telephone number.

The available employment information indicates that Farris became executive director in April 2025, succeeding Eric Clark. A professional employment profile gives her tenure as April 2025 to present, and contemporaneous LinkedIn search results contain an announcement welcoming her as the Foundation’s new executive director.

The Foundation for Leon County Schools (FLCS) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that serves as the direct-support organization for Leon County Schools. It was created in 1986 to raise private and community resources for programs benefiting LCS students, teachers and schools.